Amanda
An Immortal and master thief who steals for both profit and thrills, Amanda has been many things for Duncan MacLeod over the centuries: a source of both amusement and frustration, a friend, an annoyance, a confidant, and on more than one occasion, a lover. Personality Compulsive, intelligent, and sly, Amanda is manipulative and deceitful toward friend and foe alike, though not truly malicious. For centuries she has lived her life without looking back, uncaring of the chaos left in her wake as a result of her actions. Taking care to avoid stealing from good-hearted folk, she primarily targeted banks, museums, and the obscenely rich and wealthy - a character flaw that was later cultivated by others, turning her into a steadfast friend despite the occasional museum caper or estate pilferage. History Amanda was born around the year AD 820 in the Abbey of St. Anne in Normandy, France. Despite being poor and uneducated, she was intelligent though she would have to steal if she wanted to eat. Her first death was in 850 AD during the Black Plague, when she was beaten to death for stealing food from a plague-ridden residence. Her body was to be cast into a bonfire, but was rescued by Rebecca Horne just as Amanda took her last breath. Rebecca became her mentor and best friend, instructing Amanda on more than just how to live, she taught her how to survive The Game, explaining the rules as well as training her in swordplay. Amanda, however, was unable to let go of her past and one night tried to steal the Methuselah Stone from Rebecca. Caught in the act, and humbled by Rebecca's forgiveness of her betrayal, Amanda was so moved by Rebecca's kindness and generosity she resolved to repent and committed herself to becoming a proper lady, living a normal life free of crime. She appeared to be somewhat successful for at least three years, after which Amanda left Rebecca's abbey in 853 As Rebecca had done with her other pupils, she gave Amanda a part of the Methuselah Stone as a parting gift. Later that same year, during her travels Amanda met the Immortal Hengist the Saxon, who challenged her. Fearing for her life, she ran back to Rebecca's abbey knowing she would be safe on Holy Ground. Rather than console her however, Rebecca advised her to face her demons and stop running, advice which Amanda heeded. Facing off with Hengist, she received her first Quickening. Leaving the abbey once more and unable to predict what the future would hold for her, Amanda returned to the one thing she knew best - thievery. Combining Rebecca's wisdom with her cunning, Amanda was able to parlay her abilities into a lucrative career over the next several centuries, she became one of the most successful thieves in Europe. Around the year 1182, Amanda was in England. Happening across a farm whose inhabitants were slaughtered by the Normans, she found Kenneth, a ten year old Saxon boy who had revived and become Immortal. Becoming his first mentor, she teaches him to use his innocence and youth to his advantage, offsetting bigger and more powerful opponents. Forming a partnership, the two became thieves wanted all over the country, although this was short-lived as Amanda was captured by a group of Norman soldiers a year later and hanged. Not believing that she would come back to life, Kenneth ran away. After reviving, Amanda searched for him for 3 years to no avail, they would not meet again until 1995. Traveling in Monaco in 1297, she met Immortal Phillippe Canella, who, with a group of men disguised as monks, were assisting Francisco Grimaldi to wrest control of the principality from Ghbellines, convincing her to leave Monaco that very night. In later years, Amanda had run-ins with other Immortals like Vladimir Rankov, Liam Riley, and Jeremy Dexter, and robbed Queen Mary’s treasure, to mention but a few. In 1610, Amanda was in the Netherlands, teaching Even Peyton about his Immortality and how to survive. Despite Amanda’s teachings about moving on from his old life, he still wanted his inheritance. Poisoning his adopted brother in order to inherit his family's estate, Amanda had no choice but to expose Even who then fled. Twenty-five years later Amanda turned up in Florence, Italy, visiting Rebecca. While walking in town, the two women sense an Immortal close by, who turned out to be Duncan MacLeod. Clearly flustered and surprised at their male dressing and confident demeanor, MacLeod had his purse stolen by Amanda, but later tracked them down. Suggesting the three of them have a drink, this was the beginning of a long friendship that grew between them. Eight years later in 1643, In Germany's fabled Black Forest, she came across Dr. Julian Heller, who sentenced her to burn at the stake as a witch along with another woman. Although managing to escape in the end, it came at a price, with Amanda killing the other woman to end her suffering, swearing vengeance on Heller if she ever saw him again. In 1720, Amanda decided to travel to the New World, voyaging to Haiti where she became involved with a slave family during the uprising. Promising the family that she would preserve their heritage, she and the family fled the country on board a ship called the Maria Rose. Unfortunately, en route to its destination the ship sank, drowning both Amanda and the family, and the locket containing the papers of the family's birthright was lost. Heading to the Far East in 1753, Amanda landed in Turkey, where she learned to become a harem dancer as a cover to steal the sultan’s treasure. Unsuccessful, she was caught and sentenced to have her hands cut off. However, Duncan, who happened to be visiting the Sultan as a military consultant, intervened saved her. Returning to the New World in 1776, Amanda settled in the United States, working behind the lines as a camp healer during the American War for Independence. It was at that time that she met Liam Riley again, who by this time was a soldier in the British army. After he accidentally shot a woman trying to protect her pre-Immortal son Sean, Liam became guilt-ridden. Having a religious upbringing himself, Liam vowed to leave the military behind and become a holy man if the woman survived. Caring for the woman, Amanda managed to save her, although later she died of her wounds. Feeling that his transformation into a holy man was for the best and knowing that it would shatter him if he ever found out, Amanda decided not to tell Liam the truth. Coming back to France in the middle of the Revolution a few years later, Amanda was arrested on suspicion of being a rebel, and sentenced to be guillotined. However, she was saved by the Immortal Talia Bauer, to whom she promised to return the favor one day. 1804 found Amanda living with Duncan in Bavaria. While leading Duncan to thinking that she had finally decided to change her ways, it was not to be as Amanda stole the Baron Holstein’s treasure, leaving Duncan to face the wrath of the Baron and his men. She then escaped with a new partner, an Immortal named Zachary Blaine. Between the year 1819 or 1820, Amanda also stole the Star of India from the Duke of Wellington. In 1867 she wed Immortal Derek Markham in Manchester, England. Their marriage ended when Amanda reported him to the police after he killed a person he had kidnapped. Pretending to be a wealthy French woman in 1888, Amanda arrived in San Francisco at the Double Eagle, a saloon owned by Immortal Kit O'Brady. Winning the saloon from O'Brady in a game of poker, she renamed it the Queen of Spades. renewing her relationship with Duncan at the same time. A year later, the saloon mysteriously burned down to the ground. Unaware that Kit was in the Atlantic, (his ship to Alaska had sunk with all hands) at the time of the fire, she swore revenge on him despite Duncan telling her not to. Later relocating to New York, she fell in love with the adopted son of silversmith, Morgan Kenworthy. After the young man was murdered in a labor dispute, which also resulted in Morgan's First Death, the elder Kenworthy vowed to kill the descendants of his son’s killer. Amanda was also on board the Titanic when it sank in 1912. During the First World War in 1917, Amanda dressed as a peasant girl and robbed a dispatcher. The dispatcher was carrying a message that would have saved an American army unit from death, with a pre-Immortal John Ray Fielding among the dead In 1921, Amanda returned to America, meeting Zachary Blaine again. Together, the two began to tour the American Southwest as part of a circus high wire act. (Years later, Tessa was to find a circus poster with their pictures on it, disproving Amanda's claim that she did not know Zachary Blaine.) She decided to leave a few months later over a pay dispute. The same year, she meets fellow Immortal Cory Raines, a charming bank robber and self-styled Robin Hood. Taking a liking to Raines, she decided to join him in a Bonnie & Clyde-style series of robberies, with Duncan along to dig them up whenever they were shot down in a hail of bullets. Heading back to Europe in 1936 (The Return of Amanda), Amanda posed as a cabaret singer in Berlin while making plans to steal a set of perfectly forged U.S currency plates. Although successful in getting the plates, she asks Duncan to help her when the Gestapo becomes involved. Rebuffed by Duncan at first since he is smuggling a scientist out of the country, Amanda doesn't take no for an answer and ends up taking the plane Duncan had arranged to get with the scientist, flying him and the plates out of Germany and leaving Duncan to hold off the German army. A few years later, Amanda meets up with Duncan again in Scotland, where they join Hugh Fitzcairn for a golf match. When the two discover that Fitz cheated during a previous match in 1720 that involved a decision whether to steal the Stone of Scone or blow up the King's armory, Duncan insists that they go after the stone again. Thinking that the stone was a diamond, Amanda approached another Immortal, Lord Bernard Crimmins, to bankroll their attempt, promising him a share of the loot. Upon discovering the stone is actually a stone, she is furious when Duncan escapes with it, but when Amanda is caught she implicates Fitz. With some help from his World War II contacts, Duncan arranged for his friends' release and for the return of the stone with a reasonable cover story, after which the trio returned to Scotland for another golf game. Amanda's debut in Highlander: The Series came in the Season 1 episode The Lady and the Tiger, in which she was working in a traveling circus as a trapeze artist known as The Amazing Amanda. Soon Zachary escapes from his prison and comes looking to kill her for what she did in 1985. However, she manages to prevent her death at his hands by telling him about a book at a museum in France that she can steal which is worth at least $ 10,000,000 as well as Duncan MacLeod’s head. Days later, she sends Duncan tickets inviting him, Tessa and Richie to watch her performance. She meets Duncan after the show and is introduced to Tessa and Richie. She is not pleased when she learns that they know about her Immortality. The sparks fly immediately between Amanda and Tessa, who is less than pleased to find one of Duncan’s old flames around. Duncan makes his goodbyes and leaves, ready to make his peace with Tessa. Amanda then goes to see Duncan to tell him that there is an Immortal hanging around the circus, one who doesn’t have her health in mind. She has to work hard to get him to agree to go with her, as he knows her of old and is reluctant to get drawn into her schemes again. They go to the circus, but they sense no one else there. Duncan is about to leave thinking that she is playing games with him when Zachary arrives and fights with Duncan. When the fight is interrupted and Zachary flees, Duncan tells Amanda not to worry since the circus workers will watch out for him. Later Tessa finds some evidence that sheds light about Amanda and Zach’s relationship having been partners in the circus before and that there is a possibility that they are playing him. Duncan is not convinced until Richie follows follows Amanda and sees her meeting Zach. Amanda is confronted by Duncan who demands answers. Amanda has no choice but to tell Duncan the truth about her and Zachary being partners for centuries, how he became dangerous and greedy to the point that she faked her death and framed him for her murder. She also tells him about the plan to steal the book in the museum and she asks to go with her, but he’ll have none of it. To prevent him interfering, Amanda has Duncan overpowered by the carnies, who are to hold him until the morning. She and Zachary are in the museum about to steal the Book when Duncan who has escaped is their and sets off the alarms. Zachary assumes that Amanda tricked him and tries to shot her only for Duncan to save her. When Duncan defeats him, Amanda ceases the opportunity to behead her former partner taking his head and quickening. After the fury subsides, Amanda makes one last attempt to get Duncan to leave with her but he is committed to Tessa. Amanda makes to leave, but is heartened when Duncan calls her back. But it's only to leave the book that she stole. After her mentor Rebecca was killed by Luther (another one of Rebecca's students), Amanda is determined to take her revenge against him, but knows that he is very powerful, so she decides to spend what may be her last days with Duncan. Confronting Luther where he killed Rebecca, the two fight, although Amanda is no match for Luther and is defeated. But before Luther can take her head, Duncan arrives and saves her by revealing that he has her piece of the Methuselah Stone. Knocking out Amanda, Luther turns and faces Duncan. Defeating Luther, Duncan then gives the crystal to Amanda, as a reminder of her mentor. Amanda attempts to convince him to find Luther's hiding place to retrieve the rest of the crystal. In the third season, Amanda is in Paris when she receives a call from Duncan asking her to help him in mentoring recently Immortal Michelle Webster. She agrees. Amanda later on goes to the prison where Kalas is being held supposedly to break him out, but instead to try to kill him as a means protecting Duncan, but this ends up with Kalas escaping. She later tells Duncan what happens. Amanda came visiting Seacouver again much to Duncan’s worry mainly because Kit O’Brady was in Seacouver looking to buy a horse for an upcoming race. Duncan knows that Amanda will likely want to take revenge. Days later Amanda would meet her former pupil Kenny who is hiding from Terrence Kincaid. Duncan doesn’t trust him at all and tries to warn Amanda about him. But she ignores him. However, the pupil teaches the master some tricks as Kenny betrays her and joins forces with Kincaid in search of a double Quickening. Duncan is able to overcome Kincaid, but Kenny is only stopped from taking his head when he is down from Kincaid's Quickening by Amanda's promise that she will take his head if he takes Duncan's. Before the episode finishes, Amanda finds a new friend in Anne Lindsay. After a while she decided to try and help Duncan and Joe reconcile after the events of the episode Brothers in Arms. When Amanda learns that Duncan has been kidnapped by Immortal Simon Killian, she forces Joe to help her rescue him. Duncan eventually defeats Killian and Amanda convinces Duncan to reconcile with Joe. Some months later Amanda is attacked by a mysterious group of men broke into her apartment the night before and tried to kill her. Disturbed by this, She has been wandering the streets and even attacked a man for following her, who just turned out to be attracted to her. Initially, Duncan puts the attack down to poetic justice, but takes her more seriously when she tells him that one of these mortals tried for her head with a sword. Duncan checks with Dawson, but the Watchers know nothing. On the quayside, they spot a man who has been following Amanda and fake an argument to lure him out into the open. They take the man onto the barge and it turns out that he is Amanda's Watcher, Daniel Geiger. Dan says that he saw the men go into Amanda's apartment, but for a Watcher is very fuzzy about the details, prompting Amanda to dub him "the idiot". He tells them that the men left in a van, which Amanda remembers seeing - a green American van. Letting Dan go, they set out to track down the van, with Amanda becoming increasingly paranoid and seeing assassins in every innocent passer-by. Arriving at the last address on their list, they find the owner shot and Amanda recognizes him as one of her attackers. As Duncan chases after the killer, who gets away, Amanda asks the dying man why they attacked her and is rewarded with one word - "crystal". As he dies, he clutches at the crystal given to Amanda by her teacher, Rebecca, over a thousand years before. Amanda realizes that someone had recovered the pieces of the crystal to reform the original stone, and that it could only be a Watcher. Amanda later on breaks into the new Watcher’s headquarters to steal back the crystals, but disturbs another thief - Methos. Amanda is infuriated, believing that Methos must have sent the mortals after her for the last piece of the crystal, and tries to take his head, but only succeeds in setting off the burglar alarm. As both Immortals flee empty handed, Amanda warns Methos that it isn't over. Methos wants the crystals, which are said to have belonged to Methuselah and Noah, because they form a stone which makes a mortal Immortal. He doesn't want it for himself, but for Alexa, who is dying in a hospital in Geneva. When Duncan asks him about Amanda, Methos tells him that she attacked him and, when Duncan tells him about the attempt to kill her, he says it wasn't him. Duncan says they were mortals, but Amanda thought Methos had sent them, Methos turns his back on the Highlander and walks away. Amanda decides to meet Methos, but on her way to the rendezvous is chased by gunmen in a car. Arriving flustered, she assumes Methos has set her up and attacks him. Initially reluctant to fight, he backs away, but realizing he has no choice, defeats and disarms her, and it seemed he was very close to taking her head before throwing his sword down. Calling Amanda a fool, he told her she understood nothing, "You try living one year knowing that your time is running out, knowing that when it comes to the final fight, however much you train, whatever tricks you have — you still lose!" Amanda finally understands, and in remorse, she decides to help him. Amanda and Methos break into the watcher’s headquarters and find that the crystals have been moved into the vault. As Amanda cracks the vault open, Methos chases a cat around the building, trying to stop it setting off the alarm. Amanda is seen by Stern on the video surveillance cameras and, as she tries to leave, is stopped by him and "the idiot". Methos throws the cat at Stern and Amanda escapes, as Methos takes the bullet Stern meant for Amanda. When he revives, Stern is willing to trade Methos for the crystals. At the exchange Stern is killed by Dan Geiger who wants the crystals to become Immortal. In the ensuing fight, Geiger and his men are killed, but the Stone fragments and falls into the river, with only one piece remaining on the bridge as a keepsake for Amanda. With nothing to hold him in Paris, Methos flies back to Geneva that night to be with Alexa during her final days. Alternate Amanda In the series finale, To Be, while Duncan MacLeod was looking at the world as it might have been without him in it, it is revealed that without Duncan in her life, Amanda never abandoned her criminal way of life and is, in fact, quite evil, ruthless and acquisitive, rather than merely mischievous and reckless. In the alternate timeline, she was beheaded by the Hunters and their leader, James Horton, who had corrupted and taken over the Watchers since Duncan never existed to put a stop to them. Spin-Offs Amanda returned in the spin-off series Highlander: The Raven. The show lasted one season, running from the fall of 1998 to spring of 1999 While being investigated for a crime she didn't commit, a police officer named Claudia Hoffman, jumps in front of a bullet to save her life, not knowing she is Immortal. Saddened by Claudia's sacrifice for her life, Amanda begins to realize the consequences of her criminal lifestyle and realizes that she has to change her ways. In this time, she meets a pre-Immortal cop, Claudia's partner, Nick Wolfe. By the beginning of the series, Amanda has settled in Toronto, Canada, still up to her old habits. Making off with yet another priceless jewel collection, even the arrival of Detectives Nick Wolfe and Claudia Hoffman doesn't dampen her high spirits. Things change the following morning when she goes to her regular fence, Harry, but finds him murdered. She is seen leaving and, when they come to arrest her, Nick Wolfe and Claudia find the gun used to kill Harry. Amanda makes her getaway and goes to see Basil Morgan, another fence and an Immortal. Basil agrees to fence the jewels, but before he can, he is murdered as well. Realizing the killer must be a cop, Amanda searches Wolfe's apartment, but is arrested. As Basil bails her out, he recognizes the voice of the man who shot him. By then, Nick has put two and two together, but the crooked cop tries to kill him. As Nick and Claudia go to arrest him, Amanda recovers the jewels from his car, only to find herself cornered. Claudia tries to save her and both women are shot before Wolfe kills the bad guy. As Nick grieves for his partner, Amanda rises from the dead and flees, leaving Nick shocked. Later the two team up together, with Nick on occasion asking Amanda for help in certain cases. Soon, Amanda’s ghosts from the past come to haunt her when John Ray Fielding came looking for her, intent on making her pay for causing the deaths of his men during the First World War. Guilt-ridden by what she did, she offers to die for it but Fielding decides to let her live, seeing that she is truly sorry for what she did. With Nick out of town, Myers asks Amanda to help him break into a lawyer's house, to recover evidence that could implicate Wolfe in police corruption. Amanda agrees, but is furious when she finds out that Myers lied to her, as the house belongs to a wealthy industrialist who is found dead. When Nick finds out, he confronts Myers, who tells him a partial truth - the industrialist, Ludwig, was Nick's mentor in the Stasi when he was a double agent in his "Cloak & Dagger" days. He caught Bert when he and Amanda were in the house, so Myers shot him in self-defense. Ludwig had been blackmailing Myers into allowing an Indian environmentalist that he was supposed to be protecting to be assassinated and Myers had wanted the evidence that connects him to the past. With Ludwig's associate continuing the pressure, a plan is hatched and Amanda takes the place of the environmentalist as the final twists of the plot unravel. Nick kills the associate and Amanda exposes Ludwig's final ace - Myers' girlfriend was one of Ludwig's agents and a back-up assassin. Days later, Joe Dawson comes calling to warn Amanda about Andre Korda, whom the Watchers are looking for. When Nick becomes involved, Korda sends his student Crysta after her. After a face-off, Amanda emerges as the victor, although she feels that the situation has become too dangerous for Nick, and has Joe tell Nick that she is dead while she flees the country. However, Nick travels to France armed with her sword, intent on facing Andre. Nick's headstrong approach is no match for the thinking Korda, and the hunter becomes the hunted when Korda guns him down. Now it Amanda who is heading for France with vengeance in mind, not knowing if Nick is alive or dead. Arriving in Paris, she seeks help from Immortal priest Liam Riley, trying to locate doctors who might have treated Nick after he was shot. In Chinatown, she finds a woman named Mika, who tells her that she treated Nick, but he died. A distraught Amanda leaves with Nick's watch, only to find she has been set up for a little payback. Nick was rescued by Bert Myers, who has been watching Korda. After a moment of honesty at their "French Connection", Nick and Amanda pick up where they left off - arguing. Using Myers' contacts to gather together seemingly random events, Nick realizes that Korda is about to go into the counterfeiting business big time. The police raid Korda's club, but he gets away underground. As Nick and Amanda go hunting for him in the catacombs, Korda's men grab Myers and the scene is set for confrontation. Nick goes after Myers as Amanda graduates at the expense of her former teacher. With Korda dead, Amanda and Myers buy his club, The Sanctuary, and Myers asks Nick to take over his European operations. Meeting her friend Talia Bauer again, she finds that Talia who is working with a scientist to create a virus. Eventually, Amanda steals the toxin from her safe while Nick distracts her. Talia threatens to kill Nick if Amanda doesn't return the toxin, but as the two face off, Amanda wins and lets Talia live - her life for Nick's. But Talia doesn't see it that way and when Amanda takes her head, the "Inferno" of her Quickening neutralizes the toxin, leaving no trace that it ever existed. Afterward, Amanda meets up with her best friend and rival Jade. Amanda and Nick recover a painting from Jade, but Amanda realizes it's a fake. Nick's client, Sir Trevor Benton, has no intention of giving up the painting and is, in fact, donating the fake as part of an elaborate scam. To avoid detection, he arranges for Jade to steal it. When he double-crosses Jade and both women end up shot, they put aside their differences long enough to work together to give Benton a taste of his own medicine, as they frame him for an attempted break-in at the museum. Amanda would then meet with her ex-husband, Immortal Derek Markham who wants revenge against Amanda. Also Amanda tells her friend Myers that she is an Immortal, although he thinks that she is lying. Amanda and Nick are later on hired to protect the DuPont casino, but when the place is flooded with knockout gas, they succumb and are unable to prevent the clientele being relieved of their cash and jewels. Amanda is the only one not robbed, as the gang is led by former lover and associate Jeremy Dexter. With Interpol investigator, Nicolae Breslaw, taking a more than professional interest in Dexter's gang, Amanda tries to warn Jeremy to leave Paris, but Nick keeps turning up every time she finds Dexter, intent on arresting him and not amused that he and Amanda are "Thick As Thieves". When it becomes clear that Breslaw is seeking revenge for his dead brother and has a more fatal plan for Jeremy than arresting him, Nick and Amanda conspire to set Dexter up and Nick shoots him. Convinced that Jeremy is dead, Breslaw leaves Paris, leaving Amanda to make her peace with Dexter before he too leaves. Amanda and Nick are approached by journalist Tim Helfet, who is in fear of his life. After they thwart a first attempt, he tells them that he wants them to steal the computer of the aide to an Eastern Bloc Prime Minister, which contains the evidence that the man is betraying his country. Lured by the promise of a stash of diamonds hidden with the computer, Amanda agrees to help, but the attempt fails when they realize that the aide is Immortal Vladimir Rankov and they are forced to flee when he senses Amanda. Amanda realizes that Helfet set her up, knowing her past history with Rankov. They track down "The Manipulator" and find that he is a Watcher, determined to avenge the death of his father, who was Rankov's Watcher until Rankov killed him. The discussion is interrupted by another attempt on Helfet's life and Nick kills the assassin, who turns out to be a Watcher sent to kill Helfet for breaking his oath. Nick is tormented by having killed the Watcher and persuades Amanda to return with him to the Embassy. They steal the computer, but Rankov captures Helfet and a trade is arranged. Amanda avenges the past whilst by killing Vladamir while Nick rescues Helfet, who has to leave Paris knowing that the Watchers will never forget him. Amanda would later on encounter the Immortal Sean who is after her friend Liam and challenges him in order to prevent him from killing Liam but she is defeated in the process but before Sean can kill her, they are interrupted by Journalist Lizzie Tynan who sees Amanda revive after being killed in the duel. Amanda finds Liam and tells him that the woman(Sean's mother) died. Liam however is determined to hold to his vow not to shed blood again, despite Amanda showing him that he won't survive in the Game. Threatening to kill Lizzie, she shows him that his faith is stronger than he gives himself credit for and, when Nick is unable to stop Sean from coming after him, Liam faces the Immortal unarmed. When Liam refuses to defend himself, Sean is unable to kill the priest in cold blood and is forced to forgive him. A cancelled dinner date sets in motion a train of events that will change things between Nick and Amanda forever. Amanda's friend Janet Ross cancels when her brother, Tom, disappears and Nick agrees to look into it. He finds that Tom Ross was working on a case of computer fraud and unwittingly alerts the thief to his investigation. The thief traces him to The Sanctuary and makes an appearance. He is Immortal Evan Peyton, known to Amanda for centuries, and he warns her to stay out of his business. Nick overhears the conversation and follows Peyton, who makes short work of Wolfe and leaves him choking in a cloud of gas. Later, Peyton tells Nick and Amanda that the gas is slowly poisoning Nick and he has less than 24 hours to live. Undeterred, Nick and Amanda intercept Peyton's ill-gotten gains, with Janet's help. Peyton retaliates by kidnapping Janet. An exchange is arranged, the woman and the antidote for the money. Amanda and an ailing Nick arrive at the rendezvous, but Peyton tries to kill Amanda, who knows there never was an antidote and takes his head. Nick is fading fast and, knowing that no hospital can help him even if he wasn't dead on arrival, Amanda makes a decision and shoots him, his violent death triggering the Immortality. When he revives, he is horrified to find himself in the Game and walks away from a distraught Amanda. Personality and Relationships Amanda is innately manipulative and scheming whether it be toward friend or foe, doing whatever is necessary to achieve her goals. For centuries she lived her life with a cavalier attitude, scornful toward responsibility with no sense of moral obligation and with no remorse for her actions. Yet despite her mischievous and wily nature, she rarely stole from people that were genuinely good-hearted, choosing to steal from banks, museums, or the very rich and wealthy, whatever suited her purpose at the time and provided the biggest challenge. Extremely confident and cunning in her personality as well as her trade, Duncan once compared her to a shark, a term he also applied to the equally manipulative Methos. In keeping with her character, she has been known to exhibit a somewhat "catty" attitude towards those who scorn her, as shown by her famous comment after being provoked by novelist Carolyn Marsh,'' "She called me a cheap whore and a thief - I was never cheap!"'' Important Personal Associations: Duncan MacLeod Amanda's relationship with Duncan MacLeod was unique. She and Rebecca met the newly Immortal Duncan in 1635. Her relationship with Duncan became an intimate one, continuing off and on for centuries. They partook of many adventures together, such as the robbery of the Stone of Scone (1950) with Hugh Fitzcairn and the bank robbery days a la Bonnie and Clyde with Cory Raines (1926). For most of these adventures, or misadventures, Duncan was a grudging participant, taking part in the shenanigans mainly as a means of watching over Amanda. She generally appeared in his life whenever she found she had need of someone trustworthy, be it his sword for protection or his indulgent nature in carrying out some nefarious task Amanda herself was unable to accomplish alone. Decades could pass without them seeing one another but when they did meet up, the time they spent together was passionate yet never long-term. Not one to stay in one place for very long, Amanda would exit from his life as unexpectedly as she entered and while Duncan certainly felt her absence, he didn't truly endeavor to make her stay. Amanda manipulated him to do her bidding without hesitation or remorse, and although he appeared to be aware of this fact, he more often than not went along for the ride, more disgruntled than mad. However, despite her devious machinations, she was loyal to Duncan as he was to her. Though the two never expressed love for each other in the plain and simple sense, it could be seen in their allegiance and devotion to each others causes. Both had other liaisons throughout their lives, but fate would eventually lead them back to one another. In the series finale, Duncan admitted his love to Amanda and told her that she "made his heart glad." Methos She also developed an ally and complex relationship with Methos, the only person that could match or beat her with his manipulations. More like siblings than anything else, their friendship was once strained to the breaking point because of the Methuselah Stone, a crystal belonging to Amanda's teacher, Rebecca Horne, and which Amanda owned a part of. When a renegade Watcher tried to kill her to steal her piece of the crystal in 1996, she suspected Methos, since he seemed to be trying to steal the stone himself. After a brief confrontation, he admitted that he needed the crystal to heal Alexa, his terminally ill lover. Understanding it wasn't him who was trying to kill her, she helped Methos steal the crystal. Methos took a bullet for her when they were caught and enabled her escape. Deciding to exchange the stone for his life, (Methuselah's Gift) the stone was ultimately broken and fell into a river, leaving Methos with no chance to save Alexa. Methos is also the only person she can turn to when Duncan becomes more brooding after Immortal Steven Keane, who shared the same point of view in life as Duncan, challenges him. Fearing for his life, Amanda begs Methos to help Duncan. Both of them know that life is about changes and about accepting who you are, good or bad, and try to show this fact to Duncan. In the Highlander: Reunion special, Amanda wonders why it was they had never been lovers. Methos assures her that had they ever, they would have been great together. Kenneth (Kenny) 800 years ago, Amanda found a newly Immortal boy named Kenneth in England, whom she taught about The Game, and how to survive it. As he was only about 10 at the time of his First Death, he would forever live as a child, catching on quickly that his main weapon would be his innocence. After Amanda was hanged by the same Norman soldiers that killed him and his family, he ran away. Amanda survived, but after spending three years looking, she was unable to find him. Crossing paths with Kenneth (now known as Kenny) again in 1995, Amanda comes to realize Kenny is not a boy, but a man in a child's body, after he betrayed both her and Duncan to Terence Kincaid, a man with a grudge against Duncan. Whereas she once thought him the child she could never have, she has come around to the fact that he is an Immortal who wants to win The Game, and should be treated as such. Derek Markham Like Duncan MacLeod, who had been married only once (as far as we know) in the past, Amanda married an Immortal named Derek Markham. Betraying him to the authorities in 1867 because he was a brutal criminal, the two were separated and estranged from for 132 years before facing off one last time in 1999, with Amanda emerging as the victor. Characterization Executive Producer Bill Panzer thinks Amanda is "a beautiful, funny, international grand thief kind of character, who's crazy mad about MacLeod, but also crazy mad about her own freedom. And when Amanda comes into his life, if he's free, they have a moment. And she generally slips off into the night."2 Amanda in The Game Amanda in Battle With no real interest in The Game, Amanda instead focuses on staying alive, and so has minimized the number of duels she participates in. When faced with another Immortal, she typically runs or cons her way out of battle, or has to be rescued by a friend like Duncan MacLeod. (Her tendency to use others to fight for her is evident in the number of Immortal friends and partners-in-crime that she accumulated.) On occasions where she seeks out a battle, she almost always meets with disaster. Because of this, despite her long life, it can be assumed she absorbed a relatively low number of Quickenings. During the original series her swordsmanship appeared to be less than exceptional, and was never actually shown fighting a winning battle, even against an unarmed Kalas. Her skills receive a considerable upgrade after she meets Nick Wolfe and decided to redeem her life. Somehow, she suddenly becomes a highly skilled fighter, engaging in and winning numerous battles in a relatively short time. Most of the immortals she beheads are very young compared to her, and they are not usually active participants in The Game. Below are the Quickenings seen in the original series and The Raven series: *Hengist the Saxon, 853 ("Methuselah's Gift") (First beheading) *Zachary Blaine, 1993 ("The Lady and the Tiger") (Duncan MacLeod defeated Blaine, but Amanda beheaded him) *Mario Cardoza, 1998 ("Full Disclosure") *Stefan Collier, 1998 ("Immunity") * Wilson Geary, 1998 ("Passion Play") * Crysta, 1998 ("A Matter of Time") * Andre Korda, 1998 ("The French Connection") * Frank Brennan, 1999 ("The Rogue") * Talia Bauer, 1999 ("Inferno") * Derrick Markham, 1999 ("Love and Death") * Vladimir Rankov, 1999 ("The Manipulator") * Dr. Julian Heller, 1999 ("The Ex-Files") (Beheaded by Nick Wolfe) * Evan Peyton, 1999 ("Dead on Arrival") Here's a list of all of Amanda's known Watchers: Appearances * Highlander: The Series: - "The Lady and the Tiger", "The Return of Amanda", "Legacy", "The Cross of St. Antoine", "Rite of Passage", "Finale: Part One", "Finale: Part Two", "Double Eagle", "Reunion", "The Colonel", "Methuselah's Gift", "The Immortal Cimoli", "Dramatic License", "Money No Object", "The Stone of Scone", "Forgive Us Our Trespasses", "To Be", "Not To Be". * Highlander: The Raven: - "Reborn", "Full Disclosure", "Bloodlines", "Immunity", "So Shall Ye Reap", "Birthright", "Crime And Punishment", "The Unknown Soldier", "Cloak And Dagger", "Passion Play", "The Devil You Know", "A Matter Of Time", "The French Connection", "The Rogue", "Inferno", "The Frame", "Love And Death", "Thick As Thieves", "The Manipulator", "The Ex-Files", "War And Peace", "Dead On Arrival". * Books - White Silence, Evening at Joe's References ^ a b c Episode "The Lady and the Tiger", Bonus material, Article: "Amanda", in Highlander: The Series (season 1) (DVD, Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2001), disk 6. ^ Episode "The Lady and the Tiger", Bonus Material, Bill Panzer's interview, in Highlander: The Series (season 1) (DVD, Davis-Panzer Productions, 2001), disk 6. Category:Females Category:Immortals